OROVILLE — A former neighbor was arraigned Wednesday in connection with the double homicide Friday of an older couple in Berry Creek.

Allen Lee Leverette, 41, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder with “special circumstances,” which makes it a capital crime, though prosecutors said they have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty.

According to court records, Leverette has a “strike” on his record from a prior assault in which he was convicted of chasing his wife and daughter with a hatchet in 2004, for which he was placed on probation.

District Attorney Mike Ramsey confirmed Wednesday that a “bloody hatchet” was found on the ground after a driver who identified himself as “Allen” crashed a pickup belonging to the slain Berry Creek couple, James Dale Starick, 71, and his wife, Alnita Mae Starick, 69.

Though “blunt force trauma to the head” was listed as the initial cause of death, an autopsy was being conducted Wednesday to determine the extent of the victims’ injuries and the manner in which they died.

Butte County sheriff’s detectives suspect the couple was killed during a burglary at their Jatko Road residence in Berry Creek sometime Friday, according to Ramsey.

A number of items, including guitars and amplifiers belonging to the victims’ adult son, were missing. He made the grisly find after returning home from the Bay Area about 3 a.m. Saturday, Ramsey said.

Leverette once lived on the same street in Berry Creek where the victims resided, though he had reportedly since moved to Chico.

He surrendered to Chico police Sunday evening after learning authorities were looking for him. He was subsequently charged with the couple’s deaths following questioning.

Several members of the victims’ family wept at Leverette’s Butte County Superior Court arraignment Wednesday.

Outside of court, they declined comment, saying they had given “all the information” to the district attorney.

Judge Robert Glusman barred media photos of the suspect due to possible identity concerns, and appointed Chico attorney Mark Stapleton to represent Leverette on the twin murder charges.

The stocky, balding suspect remains held without bail pending a hearing in two weeks to enter a plea.

Last week’s double homicide shocked the rural mountain community. The slain couple were well liked and had been involved in a variety of civic programs, according to friends.

In piecing the evidence together, Butte County sheriff’s detectives believe Leverette stole a pickup in Chico that he drove to Berry Creek last Thursday, the day before the killings.

Ramsey said the suspect was captured on a surveillance camera buying items from a convenience store in the mountain community.

The stolen pickup was reportedly located abandoned at an empty residence where Leverette’s father had lived prior to his death a few years ago.

According to Ramsey, the suspect’s father and James Starick had been neighbors and “best friends.”

Following the couple’s killings, Leverette reportedly crashed the victims’ stolen pickup about 5 p.m. Friday on Bald Rock Road in Berry Creek in front of a Cal Fire-Butte County fire engine.

A firefighter was quoted as saying he thought it odd that the driver had blood on him, but no visible injuries at the accident scene.

Before the driver fled into the woods, he was quoted as yelling toward the firefighter: “I’m Allen. I’m here at my dad’s house … I don’t need any help.”

Ramsey confirmed that a bloody double-bladed hatchet was found on the ground near the driver’s side door of the victims’ crashed pickup.

The CHP was investigating the accident when a sedan also owned by the slain couple was driven past the scene about an hour later. The male driver had an odor of alcohol on him and appeared to be under the influence, according to CHP reports.

When told to step out of the vehicle for a field sobriety test, Ramsey said the suspect gunned his engine and sped off.

CHP officers lost him following a pursuit.

The crashed pickup was towed after the owner could not immediately be located, said Ramsey.

It was early the following morning that the victims’ son returned home to find his mother’s body lying on the floor of her bedroom.

Sheriff’s officers summoned to the scene located James Starick’s body in a detached garage workshop.

The slain couple’s son told detectives the only “Allen” he knew was his former neighbor, Leverette, Ramsey noted.

When authorities went to Leverette’s last known address in Chico, they were told he no longer lived there and was believed to be homeless.

Leverette turned himself in to the Chico Police Department early Sunday evening when advised authorities were looking for him.

Ramsey said sheriff’s detectives arrested Leverette in connection with the Berry Creek slayings after finding “several discrepancies” in his initial story during questioning.

According to court records, Leverette had been convicted in 2004 of using an ax to chase his then-wife and teenage daughter out of their residence on the same street where the Berry Creek couple was found slain last weekend.

As a condition of probation following the assault on his wife, Leverette had been ordered to undergo drug rehabilitation and complete a domestic violence batterer’s treatment program.

Court records indicated his probation period was extended after he admitted at least three separate violations of probation.

Assistant district attorney Helen Harberts said Wednesday that behavioral health officials involved with Leverette’s prior case had registered surprise upon learning of his arrest in the Berry Creek killings.